Terror and Carnage in Christchurch, New Zealand

On a trip to Christchurch, New Zealand, we arrived to witness the horrific carnage created by two major earthquakes and the thirty-one major aftershocks felt between February 22, 2011 and January 15, 2012. Each of those aftershocks registered between 5.0 and 6.3 on the richter scale. Plus there have been numerous other minor aftershocks felt by the people of this earthquake prone country.

The first earthquake in September, 2010 measured 7.1 on the richter scale with the second large earthquake in February, 2011 measuring 6,3. Besides the damage done during the two large earthquakes, additional carnage resulted from the aftershocks.

The center part of the city continued to be cordoned off even by Spring of 2013 when we made our trip there. It resembled what I would imagine a war zone to look like. The hotel we stayed in, although the kitchen and dining room had been renovated, was still in the process of being repaired. There was scaffolding erected around the exterior walls where cracks could still be seen. In many places inside the floors were down to concrete and many small and a few larger cracks could be seen in the interior walls as well.

Our room, however, was in good condition, as were the rest of our group's rooms. Initially only those hotels at the airport were relatively unscathed with others receiving varying degrees of damage. These were assessed for safety and had since either been repaired or were in the process of being done. Most damaged was the Hotel Grand Chancellor, standing twenty-six stories tall, which collapsed.

Inner city attractions, such as Cathedral Square, were hard hit by the quakes. As we walked around the city, in the areas we could go, we found many closed and damaged stores, restaurants and attractions as well as cracked sidewalks. We had to watch where we walked as some of the roads and sidewalks had lifted or were sunken. Workers rebuilding Christchurch were evident everywhere.

When visiting the Botanical Gardens, we saw no damage and nor did we when visiting the Canterbury Museum. However, we were told there had been some damage done to the facade of the building. On a visit to one of the families in the area, we were shown some of the damage they had sustained and heard harrowing stories that they, as well as others, experienced. They did escape the worst of it, they said, because their location was somewhat outside of the main earthquake zone.

We visited other homes as well, most with damage to walls and surrounding sidewalks. Many were without electricity for a while following the earthquakes. One of the oldest homes in Christchurch was severely damaged. It was obvious that it had previously been a beautiful home but when we saw it it was covered in tarps and was enclosed in a safety fence because repairs had not yet been completed.

It was heartbreaking to not only see the damage two years later but to hear the stories about people returning to their homes to find that the earth surrounding them had become liquified. With the earthquakes there was estimated to be 400,000 tonnes of silt because of the liquifaction. Many were unable to enter their homes, thousands were without power, but most horrific was the loss of 185 lives.

But when those we met talked about their experiences during this time, they neither complained nor felt sorry for themselves. All had a very stoic attitude towards their situation. Since the last two major earthquakes, Christchurch has become better prepared for any future catastrophes. Since we were there in early 2013, there have been other, although minor, earthquakes. It is a fact of life in this earthquake zone area.

In spite of the earthquake risk in New Zealand, there have been many years without even the slightest tremor so one should not hesitate to go there because of a 'what if'. New Zealand is a lovely place to visit and I would not hesitate to go back again.

Bungee Jumping in New Zealand - A Heart-Stopping Adventure

Bungee jumping began in Queenstown, New Zealand pioneered by A.J. Jackett and Henry van Asch in 1988. Their first commercial bungee thrill adventure began at Kawarau Bridge outside of Queenstown but has now expanded to other sites in New Zealand and other countries around the world.

One of the other sites in New Zealand is the Nevis Swing suspended 160 metres above the canyon floor with a 120 metre rope length. After their release, participants race towards the other side of the valley at speeds of up to 120 km per hour. It is considered to be the world's largest swing.

Another heart-stopping attraction is the Ledge Bungee which is 400 metres above Queenstown. At this site you can leap in the moonlight with the stars shining brightly above or during the day with the view of the town below. Or, take a trip up the gondola above Queenstown to try the Ledge Swing and get a thrilling view of the town and Lake Wakatipu. Of if you're not quite up to the Ledge Swing, you can take the gondola up to the fantastic restaurant at the top, as I did, and view the lake and town after a wonderful meal. The swing ride over the lake takes one hour to complete.

Bungees used are similar to the bungee cords that we have all used at one time or another to keep things fastened and in place. Because of this firm elastic cord, the person free-falls, rebounding many times until the bouncing gradually lessens.

The idea of bungee jumping has been around for many hundreds of years. On Pentecost Island in Vanuatu, young men jump from platforms with vines tied to their ankles to test and prove their manhood. The story goes that a young woman was the first to do this in Vanuatu. And in 1979 members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club made a bungee-type jump from the 250 foot Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. They were arrested for their effort. Before he began his commercial bungee jumping enterprise, Hackett jumped from the Eiffel Tower and that was the beginning of the world's interest in bungee jumping.

When the two young men attempted to get financing from the bank they were turned down. No bank wanted to be part of a crazy scheme where people jumped off a bridge. They felt the risks were too high and so declined. Hackett and van Asch were eventually able to get financial backing from friends and relatives to begin their bungee jumping enterprise. Initially given a twenty-one day license to operate, they had twenty-eight people willing to pay seventy-five dollars each to enjoy the experience of a lifetime on their first day of operation. It wasn't long before the adrenaline rush experience of jumping off a bridge caught on and now many visitors to New Zealand wouldn't consider leaving the island without trying this heart-stopping thrill of a lifetime.

While I prefer the safety of terra firma, there are many adrenaline rush addicts who enjoy the experience of jumping off into space and plunging to the water below before that bounce propels them up again to continue the experience until the bounce lessens. Since Hackett and van Asch opened their business in November of 1988, millions of people have participated to become one of the many thrill-seeking adventurers. I wish I was brave enough to be one of them. Watching those souls braver than I was as close as I ever want to get to the experience.

Queenstown - A Small Town With a Lot to Offer

Built on a bay on Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown has a view of The Remarkables, as seen on Lord of the Rings. It is a small resort town of 29,200 people offering tourists a huge range of attractions and activities.

When we first arrived in Queenstown, we took the Skyline Gondola up to the restaurant for a wonderful meal and spectacular views of the town and Lake Wakatipu. Not far from our lookout point, there was a bungy jumping area. There is also a bridge outside of Queenstown where the first bungy jumping ever took place. After dinner, we walked around the small town, an area so friendly and compact that even walking alone at night would not feel uncomfortable.

The following morning we climbed back onto our bus to travel 307 km through rugged but captivating nature to Milford Sound. Unfortunately, on arrival it was drizzly and foggy for our cruise of the fjords. The area is considered to be the wettest inhabited place in all of New Zealand. But we enjoyed our lunch and what scenery we could see, particularly the magnificent waterfalls cascading down sheer, rocky cliffs. Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls are the biggest and most permanent of the waterfalls but after a rainfall hundreds of other waterfalls can be seen cascading down the steep cliffs. Some waterfalls are as high as 1,000 metres. Surrounded by staggering rock faces rising 3,900 feet or more (The Elephant Peak is 4,977 feet), Milford Sound runs 15 km inland from the Tasman Sea.

The fjords, in Fjordland National Park, weren't discovered until about 1812 by European explorers. Before that it was well-known only to the Maori people. There are only 120 people who actually live in the Milford Sound area at this time, mostly those involved in the tourism industry.

Another trip out of Queenstown was on the TSS Earnslaw, a one hundred year old coal fired steamer. After travelling on Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and then headed outside to watch the sheep dog round up a group of wayward wanderers. From there we went to view the deer farming portion of the farm. Some of the male deer population still proudly displayed their rack of antlers. From there we went to the barn to watch as one very large sheep was being sheared. And then it was time to cruise back to Queenstown under slowly darkening skies and to the accompaniment of a piano player and some robust singers.

The following day some of us took a safari to many of the locations where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Queenstown, over the years, has been the location for many television and film productions. On the safari, travelling in Land Rovers, we drove through rivers and along narrow, windy mountain roads to the top of peaks where the views were amazing. Much of what we saw could almost rival the beauty of the Grand Canyon, in my opinion. At one point we stopped to do some gold panning.

Queenstown, surrounded by picturesque mountains and a crystal-clear lake, holds you close to its heart and makes leaving difficult. But all too soon it was time to return to Christchurch and begin our homeward journey.

On our way back, we stopped at Arrowtown, an historic gold mining town of the 1800's. At that time there were as many as 7,000 people in the small village. As of 2006, the count was about 2,150 people in residence. Many of the buildings in this quaint village are well-preserved. Following that we crossed the Kawarau River, eventually arriving in Mt. Cook National Park where we were going to be spending the night. Unfortunately, here again the weather was drizzly and foggy so Mt. Cook was lost in the clouds making visibility virtually impossible.

The rest of our drive back to Christchurch was through New Zealand's typically magnificent landscape, and although it was a little on the soggy side, it was still beautiful. We spent our last evening in Christchurch having dinner on the grounds of the Dean family home, the first European settlers in the area. We ate in an outsized tent as their beautiful home was one of the many damaged in the earthquake.

Sadly, the following morning it was time to wave goodbye to New Zealand and the wonderful time we had, as we boarded our plane to begin the first leg of our journey back home.

Christchurch and Our Introduction to New Zealand

New Zealand, the land of the Kiwi bird, of sheep and cattle, mountains, rivers and lakes and beautiful natural scenery. And Christchurch, the city that two years ago suffered two serious earthquakes with at least 10,000 follow-up tremors.

When we arrived in Christchurch, we found it to be much cooler than anticipated especially after Australia but our welcome was warm. On our first night there, we went to the home of a New Zealand family for a typical New Zealand home-cooked dinner. Our meal consisted of roasted lamb with mint sauce, vegetables from their garden and the traditional dessert of Pavlova, a meringue base filled with whipped cream and covered with kiwi, peaches and strawberries.

They, like many others, had sustained some earthquake damage to their home although it was not extensive because they lived on the outskirts of town. The downtown section was the hardest hit. Even the hotel where we stayed had some cracks in the walls and scaffolding around some of the outside areas.

Christchurch, founded in July of 1856 is the second largest city in New Zealand with a population of 367,700 people. On our second day there, we were driven around to see the earthquake damage in the downtown area which, in some areas, was almost decimated. Many of the buildings had to be demolished while others, particularly those that have heritage value, are still being worked on in an effort to preserve them. Many have container cars placed in front of the facades to prevent them from crumbling or toppling over. It was a sad sight to see. During the second earthquake, 185 people lost their lives. A memorial in the downtown area had been established to honour them.

Because of the extensive damage, many restaurants had been closed, as well as hotels and tourist attractions. As a result, there were fewer places in Christchurch that we could visit and explore. A group of us took a cab to the Botanical Gardens and walked around. I admired many of the towering, majestic trees, some reportedly more than 120 years old. The flowers were still colourfully prominent and there didn't appear to be any major earthquake damage to this area. The Botanical Garden was begun by the planting of a solitary oak tree in 1863. It is bordered on three sides by Hagley Park and in some areas you can see the gently flowing Avon River beside it.

We also visited the Canterbury Museum established in 1867 but not opened to the public until 1882. The museum specializes in early Maori, European settlement and Antarctic exploration and was extremely interesting to look through. Over the years the building has been added to several times. During the recent eqrthquake it did sustain some minor damage to its facade. However, it is suspected that there was not as much damage as might have been were it not for the earthquake upgrading that was done during the latest addition.

Following our visit to the museum, we decided to walk back to our hotel, a distance of about three miles. It was quite pleasant when we started out but turned into a rainpour halfway there. However, it was fairly warm so once we were wet, it wasn't really that unpleasant. And after a stop at a Chinese restaurant for a nice hot bowl of soup, we were ready to go again. Well, almost.

From Christchurch we caught the Tranz Alpine Express for the scenic trip through the Southern Alps to Franz Josef Glacier Region. We chugged our way up picturesque mountains, across trestles with rivers flowing far below, passed scenic lakes, saw the lush greenness of valleys where sheep and cattle grazed and enjoyed the wonders of this fabulous nature. The Tranz Alpine Express, operating since the end of 1987, has an on-board cafe, large windows for excellent viewing and an open air carriage in the middle of the train to even better see the passing scenery. After about three hours of travelling, we bid adieu to our train life and again boarded the coach bus for the remainder of our trip to Franz Josef Glacier Region where we spent the night before heading to Queenstown.

The landscape between Franz Josef and Queenstown was stunning with rainforest vistas, the twisting coastline, magnificent waterfalls and gorgeous, green glacial lakes. One particularly impressive lake was Hawea. At its longest point it is 35 km and at its deepest, it is 392 metres. But most striking is its natural beauty and spectacular colour.

So far New Zealand has not been a disappointment. It surpasses any of my expectations with its beautiful and diverse scenery and for its abundance of mountains, rivers, waterfalls and lakes. Our next stop is Queenstown. Can it get any better than what we have seen so far?